The wall shakes again, citizens on the other side knowing they should be running but too scared to move. A crashing of rock and dust and a hole appears. The wall has been breached and danger is pouring in. The citizens have been shaken from their shock and are running, but many of them won’t escape. They’ll end up dinner, swallowed whole or brutally bitten in half by the terrifyingly malformed, naked, grinning Titans — massive beasts that seem to only exist to terrorize and devour humanity. With one look directly into the camera, there’s a rush of nightmares that only the eerie Titans can provide.
Attack on Titan began as a manga series in 2009, before having an anime adaptation released in 2013 and a number of spinoff novels and shows. Its popularity is widespread and this most recent video game adaptation isn’t the first attempt to let gamers battle the Titans. Fortunately, this Attack on Titan is not related to the 2013 disaster that released on 3DS. There’s always a concern when releasing a licensed product, a question of if it will do the franchise justice, if it will adequately retell the stories, and if it will deviate too far from the source material. Can it relay the narrative without relying on players having previous knowledge of the source?
From the Source
Attack on Titan reaches into both the anime and manga for inspiration, and somehow comes away with something that’s complimentary of both, yet stands on its own as a narrative piece of the franchise. Even if you’ve never seen an episode of the anime or perused a page of the manga, you can get a full understanding of the characters and stories being told, which is already an impressive feat for a licensed product. The story allows you to play as multiple characters including Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Levi, each with their own unique abilities that make taking on Titans a little bit of a different experience depending on which. Is it fun to play though? Or would you be better off gripping a potato while watching the anime just to get the story?
Besides the bizarre allure of the massive Titans (seriously, I can’t look away from the ill-proportioned naked man babies and their eerie forever smiles as they chomp down on humans with their rows of tiny teeth), Attack on Titan is fascinating for its portrayal of humanity’s ability to overcome the Titans’ size using specially designed blades and something called the 3D maneuverability system, which allows soldiers to zip through the air using pressurized gas canisters and tension cables. It’s something very fitting for an anime, but the task of translating this complex battle system to a player controllable environment seems monumental…one might say titan even. Omega Force deftly culled those concerns while creating a movement and battle system that is not only fun, but also pretty simple to pick up and learn.
The square button will launch the cables, and using the left analog stick controls each character’s direction in midair. Hitting R1 when near a Titan starts up combat mode, where square attaches to the Titan, preparing your character to fly in and perform attacks on their limbs and lethal weak point, the nape of the neck. All of these controls are completely map-able in game too, so you can swap out any button for any command. The controls feel fluid and intuitive, and after a brief time getting used to the unique system, I found myself flying about each level and slaying Titans with ease. One of the coolest little details is that the cables will always attach to a physical object instead of just appearing the shoot off into nowhere. The angle of attachment also affects movement through the level.
A Titan’s Imperfections
What is fun isn’t always perfect though, and Attack on Titan does have its faults. The extremely fluid movement and battle system does mean that the camera likes to get stuck if you drop down into roads between houses, or get tangled up in a close group of two or more Titans. Fortunately this doesn’t happen too often as the best way to take on Titans is to stay far off the ground and avoid letting one get between you and your target, so once I got the hang of the mechanics, I found the camera issues happening less and less.
Attack on Titan is one of the best looking games on the PS4, and no, I’m not saying it’s going to compete with the fidelity of a game like Uncharted 4. I am most impressed with the way that the visuals have been tailored to be specifically reminiscent of styles used within the anime and manga, all while retaining fully three-dimensional gameplay and movement. Most games based on an animated franchise fail to capture the original appeal in the move to 3D, but somehow Attack on Titan offers the best of both worlds, more or less allowing an interactive version of the anime.
This is why it’s such a shame that the screen is so ridiculously cluttered by the HUD. Mission status, equipment menu, allies, map, mission cleared notifications, and often subtitles for the Japanese voice overs while playing all provide a massive border and sometimes even mask the middle of the screen. Not only does this block the visuals they’ve created, it also makes the nuance of quickly setting up strikes on Titans’ weak points more difficult than it should be. A lot of it could easily be minimized or even completely done away with to allow more screen real estate for, you know…actually playing the game.
It also brings up a point about the Japanese voices in the game. While I don’t mind Japanese voices with English subtitles (and actually really prefer them most of the time), when I have to both concentrate on battling Titans and read the subtitles for my team’s conversation along with the rest of the messy HUD, it becomes very difficult to deal with. It’s hard to say what would resolve this. I’m fine not having an English dub, but the mid game conversations need to either be relegated to cutscenes or placed during lull moments where I can focus on what people are saying. As it is, I’ve gotten my wife to translate most in level subtitles for me, so I can focus on doing what I do best.
An Added Layer
There is an RPG-style progression system in the game where you can level up, get new gear, and gain loot from the battlefield to upgrade your gear, but I never found it to be an essential system to playing the game. It seems to be an added layer for an appearance of depth, but I managed just fine on upgrading the first set of gear that I bought, and never found a need to swap out gear for different stats when the stuff I had worked fine for taking down Titans, most in one or two hits once I got to the nape of the neck. It’s not a bad thing to have in the game, but I certainly would have liked to see this depth actually have more gamplay significance.
Finally, what would a group of Titan killing humans be without the ability to play together? Attack on Titan does have a multiplayer mode, which I was lucky enough to be able to try out with our own Cameron Teague. Jumping into a lobby, the game put us into a camp where we could prepare our gear and select a mission. The missions play just like single-player missions, with objectives popping up on the map and requiring us to take down Titans. We tried both staying together and splitting up, and both methods worked out great. While it didn’t offer that much difference from the single player, there was something awesome about seeing a human friend just across the level killing Titans too.
Attack on Titan is an excellent example of a passion project made right. It’s not a simple cash grab, but created with care for fans of the franchise and newcomers alike. It captures the precise feelings I get watching the anime without sacrificing anything for the interactive or visual experience, from the terror of the Titans to the rush of zipping through the air inches away from certain death. While it could have had a more robust RPG system and and a much cleaner HUD, these aren’t big enough issues to detract from the titan amount of fun that Attack on Titan is, each and every nape I cut.
Review code for Attack on Titan provided by publisher. Reviewed on PlayStation 4. For more information on scoring, please read our Review Policy here.
Attack on Titan - EYN2K
-
Attack on Titan - Everything You Need to Know
-
Attack on Titan was originally manga.
Attack on Titan released in the September 2009 issue of the monthly publication Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. By November 2014, Hajime Isayama's manga had 45 million copies in print. The only other manga to sell more than 2 million in print was One Piece. Attack on Titan was first published in North America on June 19, 2012.
-
It was so popular, it became an anime series.
Wit Studio adapted Attack on Titan for anime that ran from April 7, 2013 through September 29, 2013. Funimation and Crunchyroll both simulcast the series for English-speaking audiences. Funimation later bought the license to the series to sell the media to fans. The series was 25 episodes long with four OVAs. Two films have also been created, and the second season of Attack on Titan was announced on the opening day of the first theatrical movie.
-
Three video games have been made.
Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains was the first "official" game, which released in Japan on December 5, 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS. A smartphone game launched next, Attack on Titan: Howl Toward Freedom. Attack on Titan is the third game, and Capcom is developing an arcade game based on the series as well. Additionally, in Blu-Ray discs of the series, a few visual novels were created with game-like features that cover spin-off stories about the characters from the series.
-
Koei Tecmo announced the Attack on Titan game last August.
Koei Tecmo with Omega Force (the developers behind Dynasty Warriors) announced a game based upon the popular Attack on Titan anime for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita. Even though the developer is the Dynasty Warriors team, the game would not entirely be like a Dynasty Warriors game. They said it would release in 2016 and provided a little teaser trailer.
-
Game will start from beginning of story.
Rather than require players to have read the manga or watched the anime, Managing Director Hisashi Koinuma explained that the game will start at the very beginning of Isayama's story.
-
PS4 is the leading platform for title.
In the same interview, Koinuma said that the PlayStation 4 would be the lead platform for Attack on Titan. Koei Tecmo usually develops for the PS3 first and then enhances it a bit for the PS4. This time, the game will be downscaled for the PS3 and look far better on PS4 than previous games have.
-
Game will cover entire first season of anime.
Koinuma already said that Attack on Titan would start from the beginning, but soon after he announced that the game will cover all of the first season of the anime. In addition, the voice actors from the anime will be reprising their roles.
-
Dynasty Warriors-ish gameplay revealed.
Attack on Titan will feature "tactical hunting action," requiring players to stay on their toes as the state of the battle constantly changes. Depending upon what the player does, the battlefield circumstances will change. This is similar to what Dynasty Warriors games have done before, except those scenarios were scripted. This time, what the player decides to do will change the direction of the battle.
-
Publisher promises 3D maneuverability and specific destruction of body parts.
Player characters will be donned with 3D Maneuver Gear that will allow them to zip around the environment rather quickly to find titans and battle them. The slingshot and ziplining action will also be necessary to attack the titans' body parts. The only way to kill a titan is to attack at the nape of the neck, which will require some height and steady aim.
-
First gameplay trailer released.
Koei Tecmo released the first gameplay trailer at Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2015. It was well received as it was as full of action as expected from this title.
-
Second trailer reveals 3D Gear in combat.
In late 2015, we saw for the first time how the 3D Maneuver Gear would work in battle in Attack on Titan. Also of note is that at this time, Koei Tecmo was still claiming that the game still did not have a final name.
-
Gameplay footage on PS3 and Vita surfaces online.
Right before the release of Attack on Titan in Japan, Koei Tecmo streamed the title on the Vita to show how the game will look on the PS3 and the handheld. To quote Heath Hindman, it's definitely not as "buttery smooth" as the PS4 gameplay shown up to this point.
-
Attack on Titan sells extremely well in Japan.
Attack on Titan released in Japan first in February of this year. Within the first week, the Vita version was the second best selling game in Japan with the PS4 version right behind it at number three. Street Fighter V released that same week and was in 4th place. The PS3 version was the 8th best selling game in Japan for that week.
-
Release in the West set for August.
With Attack on Titan already out in Japan, Koei Tecmo finally announced when it would travel West. North America would receive it at retail for PS4 on August 30th. Vita and PS3 versions would be digital-only. Europe gets it one day earlier on August 26th, but the game is called Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom.
-
Watch your resources in battle.
To keep the rest of the world frothing for Attack on Titan, Koei Tecmo released two heavy-hitting battle trailers for the game that specifically show how much players need to watch their resources. Gas tanks can run out, and blades will get dull and need to be swapped out.
-
The titans are game-specific, not from the anime.
While the Attack on Titan game will have titans from the anime, Koinuma told us at E3 that new titans will also be featured.
It will feature titans specific to this game. There will also be titans that have not appeared in the anime which fans of the original manga are familiar with.
-
Players will have limited growth in the game.
To keep the game "faithful to the manga," Koei Tecmo has "limited the growth of the characters." There will be leveling elements, but the focus is more on developing and modifying their weapons to handle the more powerful titans.
-
DLC confirmed.
Also from our interview with Hisashi Koinuma, we learned that there will be DLC for the title. None has been announced yet, but Koinuma said they are preparing it at this time.
-
Multiplayer mode announced
The publisher announced an online multiplayer mode for the game, called Scout Mode. With Scout Mode, players can team up with three friends to leave the safety of the city walls and challenge the titans directly. The host for the session will choose the various missions available, and the missions will provide more insight into titans' backstory. All of the multiplayer missions are completely separate from the campaign and are not required to finish the main game.